This time, all eyes will be on the Great Red Spot (GRS). Provided everything works as scheduled, one RGB image will be made almost above the center of the GRS. I'd think, that this RGB image will be complemented by a methane image. Since this time, we won't have contact with Earth during the flyby, the amount of data to be collected is rather constraint. Therefore, only a small number of images of the polar region is scheduled, just enough for a long-term observation. Storage will be sufficient for imaging several POIs to be voted for, but we may not get a full latitudinal coverage.In order to obtain a full latitudinal coverage of the GRS and adjacent regions, we should take at least one image near the northern and one image near the southern edge of the GRS, better a set of five RGB images. We would see the GRS from different angles, and we would be able to study the turbulence north and south of the GRS. I'd also expect, that only images from north and south of the GRS will be able to cover most of its longitudinal extent.In addition, a sequence of images near the GRS would provide the raw material for a great and unprecedented fly-over movie.

That said, there are several other interesting or potentially interesting targets to consider. Besides for an adjacent region of the GRS, I voted for the two polar-most POIs, since I hope, that we'll get some additional polar and subpolar images for a long-term study, and more close-ups of those incredibly turbulent FFR zones near the poles.

We have scheduled 3 GRS images - one that will capture the northern edge, one centered as Juno is right over the GRS, and one looking from the south. The third one will include the methane filter.

As you might imagine the project and the media are very interested in seeing these image products as soon as possible! We can't really predict exactly when they will be downlinked, but I will jump on here to let you know when they have hit the earth and are in the pipeline. This is the message I got from Scott Bolton, the PI: "I am hoping Candy can reach out to a few amateur colleagues to get them prepped to work fast. The reward will be the first to post a quality image will get the credit from NASA and I've suggested that NASA reach out for a quote from the person processing the image to inquire how it felt to the first human to see the GRS up close.". So I know you all will process the images just because that is your passion, but there will also be intense interest from the project to release your beautiful products and, if you are interested, to interview you.

FYI, I love showing off the products you post on the missionjuno website!

I've been asked this a lot...When will the GRS images be downlinked? These are the factors:

* We have no downlink during the perijove pass because the spacecraft is in the MWR attitude. This means that all data must be stored on-board. The JunoCam onboard storage is 1181 Mb.* Once downlink starts we play back engineering first, then FGM, then the other instruments* The instrument round-robin will start at 6:40 am on Tuesday; JunoCam gets roughly 6 min per hour * We start by playing back the images collected at -24 hr. Those images are compressed, so it is difficult to calculate the speed of playback precisely. Also, if other instruments’ buffers empty early then playback of JunoCam data will speed up.* If the GRS images happen to be played back in the middle of the night there is no one at MSSS to see that they’ve arrived - that will happen at open of business * Once we get the actual images we still need the c kernel with the spacecraft attitude to run the processing pipeline. Usually the C kernel arrives within a day of perijove, so this shouldn’t be a delay. * As soon as the raw images are posted we will let everyone know that they are available at missionjuno.

Very conservatively I've estimated July 14, expecting that it is likely we'll see them at least a day before.Hope this is helpful!!

It's a mission goal to do this at least once. Since neither the long-term position of the GRS or the exact orbit parameters can be predicted exactly, there's no way to know when in the original mission plan it would have happened.

--------------------

Disclaimer: This post is based on public information only. Any opinions are my own.

It's a mission goal to do this at least once. Since neither the long-term position of the GRS or the exact orbit parameters can be predicted exactly, there's no way to know when in the original mission plan it would have happened.

The predicted SPICE kernels look as if a change of s/c attitude has been anticipated for 08:13 UTC, i.e. in a few hours. That's my best guess, when downlink will start.I also presume, that c-kernel data of today will miss the GRS flyby by about two hours, such that my best guess for the availability of the first raws will be tomorrow (2017-07-12) morning PDT.

IMAGE COPYRIGHT
Images posted on UnmannedSpaceflight.com may be copyrighted.
Do not reproduce without permission. Read
here for further information on space images and copyright.

OPINIONS AND MODERATION
Opinions expressed on UnmannedSpaceflight.com are those of the
individual posters and do not necessarily reflect the opinions
of UnmannedSpaceflight.com or The Planetary Society. The all-volunteer
UnmannedSpaceflight.com moderation team is wholly independent
of The Planetary Society. The Planetary Society has no influence
over decisions made by the UnmannedSpaceflight.com moderators.

SUPPORT THE FORUM
Unmannedspaceflight.com is a project of the Planetary Society
and is funded by donations from visitors and members. Help keep
this forum up and running by contributing
here.